The January 2015 North American blizzard was a powerful and severe blizzard that dumped up to 3 feet (910 mm) of snowfall in parts of New England. Originating from a disturbance just off the coast of the Northwestern United States on January 23, it initially produced a light swath of snow as it traveled southeastwards into the Midwest as an Alberta clipper on January 24–25. It gradually weakened as it moved eastwards towards the Atlantic Ocean, however, a new dominant low formed off the East Coast of the United States late on January 26, and rapidly deepened as it moved northeastwards towards southeastern New England, producing pronounced blizzard conditions. The nor’easter then gradually weakened as it moved away into Canada. The storm was also given unofficial names, such as Blizzard of 2015, and Winter Storm Juno.

Before the blizzard struck, meteorologists had been anticipating that the impending storm would be “historic” and “record-breaking”, with predictions of snowfall accumulations in major metropolitan areas such as New York City of up to 2–3 feet (24–36 in). However, the predictions fell significantly short of what was anticipated, mainly due to a shift of the storm’s track, which cut down on the amount of snowfall. In the aftermath of the storm, citizens criticised the local government for shutting down the subway system in New York City for the storm.

The precursor to the blizzard tracking across the Ohio Valley, as an Alberta clipper on January 25, 2015.

At 09:00 UTC on January 26, the Weather Prediction Center began issuing storm summaries on the developing disturbance while the low-pressure system was centered near Bluefield, West Virginia. At the time, mixed precipitation was occurring over northern Appalachia.[9][10] As this system tracked eastward, it gradually weakened;[11] however, at the same time, a new low-pressure system formed off the coast of North Carolina and began to track north-northeastward, eventually becoming the dominant low of the storm.[12] Early on January 30, the nor'easter left the East Coast, even as another winter storm began to impact the region.[13] During the next day, the former nor'easter continued to accelerate eastward across the North Atlantic, even as it rapidly weakened.[14] On January 31, the winter storm was absorbed by a much more powerful extratropical cyclone developing over Western Europe.[15]

A number of New York City residents criticized New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's decision to shut down the city's subway system; it had never previously been closed due to snow. The nor'easter dropped much less snow in the city than originally expected, totaling 9.8 inches (25 cm) in Central Park. The models were 50 miles off; the storm failed to bring moisture back to New York City and New Jersey.[16][17]

On January 25, 2015, blizzard warnings were issued for areas of coastal New England, New York and New Jersey.[18] High winds and heavy snow were forecast for the evening of January 26 and all day January 27, impacting a 250-mile area from New York City to Boston.[2] On January 26, many roads in New York and New England were closed to all vehicles except emergency vehicles due to life-threatening conditions on area roadways.[19][20]

At the height of the storm, a 300-mile (480 km) stretch of Interstate 95 from northern New Jersey to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border was closed in conjunction with travel bans in the impacted areas. Portions of Interstates 78, 80, 84, 87, 90, 91 and 93 were also shut down by the storm.

In preparation for the winter storm, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation deployed approximately 350 salting trucks to treat major roadways.[21] On January 26, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a disaster emergency proclamation in an attempt to distribute state resources as quickly as possible.[22] Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter closed municipal offices and schools for January 27 and cancelled trash collection for the day. Meanwhile, SEPTA's bus lines closed while its train system ran 24 hours a day for Monday and Tuesday. According to the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, the snow emergency declaration was lifted at 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.[23]

The South Brunswick Police Department said in a press release on January 25 that additional officers and public works staff would be on duty throughout the storm. The department urged residents to make preparations in anticipation that travel would be impossible for several days. The Monroe Township Office of Emergency Management released a guideline to ensure residents were safe and prepared for the nor'easter.[24] New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency for the duration of the storm; in a morning press conference, Christie also urged all nonessential personnel to remain off roadways.[25] A travel ban was issued later that day, to be put in effect on January 26 at 11 pm; Amtrak and New Jersey Transit services were also suspended.[19]

In a statement on January 25, New York GovernorAndrew Cuomo urged residents to take their necessary safety precautions and prepare for the possibility of disrupted commute on Monday and Tuesday. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority deployed extra crews, salting trucks, and chained tires. Delta Air Lines promised full refunds for flights significantly delayed.[26] The State Emergency Operations Center in Albany was expected to be staffed beginning early on January 26 to coordinate with all affected counties. At least 1,806 plows and 126,000 tons of salt were expected to be divided across the region, and the National Guard was expected to deploy more than six dozen personnel and 20 vehicles throughout the region. New York State Police were expected to bring in additional personnel, as well as supply at least 50 4x4 vehicles, 8 all-terrain vehicles, and 8 snowmobiles.

At its major transportation facilities, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey readied more than 200 piece of snow equipment at its airports, more than 60 pieces of snow equipment for its bridges and tunnels, hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid anti-icer chemicals and thousands of tons of solid de-icers, plow-equipped trains, liquid snow-melting agent trains, and a "jet engine" plow. The New York State Thruway Authority activated its emergency operations ahead of the winter storm and is expected to supply 338 snowplows, 18 snowblowers, 55 front-end loaders, and approximately 126,000 tons of salt. The New York State Department of Transportation also activated its emergency operations, mobilizing 162 snow plows and nearly 338 operators to Long Island and the Hudson Valley, totaling to approximately 600 plows and 1,300 operators and supervisors across downstate New York. A total of 1,444 snow plows and 3,629 operators and supervisors would be available statewide.[27]

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy announced in a press conference early on January 26 that Connecticut Transit services would be suspended and a statewide travel ban would be effective beginning at 9 p.m EST; he also urged all residents to leave work early and shelter in their homes. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it would be adding additional trains to accommodate for those who travel by rail. The governor announced that more than 600 crews would be working to pre-treat major roads, while he issued a declaration of civil preparedness emergency to coordinate resources during the storm.[29]Connecticut Light and Power and United Illuminating prepared for a "Level 1" emergency and summoned outside tree and line crews.[30] Later that day, the governor declared a state of emergency. The travel ban was lifted for Fairfield and Litchfield Counties in western Connecticut at 8 a.m. on the 27th, and for the remainder of the state at 2 p.m. that afternoon.[31]

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo urged people to ensure that they had enough food, water, and fuel to last several days for what could be a "very severe and dangerous weather event". She asked residents to keep fire hydrants uncovered and asked that generators used for electricity were located outside of homes and in well-ventilated locations.[32] On January 26, the governor declared a state of emergency and announced that a statewide travel ban would go into effect at midnight. National Grid gathered approximately 1,000 crews to help restore power after the storm passed.[33]

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency and asked residents to remain safe and off roadways. A statewide travel ban was issued effective at midnight on January 27, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced that it would be closed that day. In Boston, up to 35,000 tons of salt were prepared and snow farms were readied to store the removed snow following the passage of the storm. Electric companies brought in extra crews.[34] The Fall River, Massachusetts Department of Public Works gathered more than 800 tons of salt and began to treat major roadways in advance of the storm.[35]

Environment Canada issued special weather statements to all of the Maritime provinces on January 23, warning of the future developing storm. On January 26 Environment Canada issued Winter Storm Warnings for all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and central to southern New Brunswick. These warnings were later upgraded to Blizzard Warnings. Between 6 and 20 inches (15 and 51 cm) of snow was forecast across the Maritimes. On January 27, Snow started early in the morning in southwestern Nova Scotia and continued northeastward. A large wind gust of 80 mph (130 km/h) was measured in Baccaro Point, NS.[36] Meanwhile, in Sluice Point there were gusts exceeding 70 mph (110 km/h) in the afternoon.[37] In Moncton snow totaled near 11.8 inches (30 cm) the most out of all four provinces.[38] The strong winds and blowing snow caused poor traveling conditions across Atlantic Canada.

FlightAware reported that 1,200 flights were expected to be cancelled on January 26.[2] Delta pre-emptively cancelled 600 flights; furthermore, a dozen flights from London Heathrow to New York, Philadelphia and Boston were cancelled on the same date.[3]

Significant flooding was reported in Scituate, Massachusetts, where National Guardsmen were sent to rescue people from the high waters[42] and power was cut to some areas of the town to prevent fires from breaking out.[43] Elsewhere in the state, eighty feet of seawall in Marshfield was washed away by the storm, and a number of houses in the town were condemned.[44] "Virtually all" utility customers lost power on the island of Nantucket and in Provincetown on Cape Cod during the storm.[45]

Up to 34.5 in (88 cm) of snow fell in Worcester, Massachusetts, marking the city's largest storm total accumulation on record. The Blue Hill Observatory in Massachusetts observed 30.8 in (78 cm), or the second-largest storm total accumulation on record, while both Providence, Rhode Island and Portland, Maine recorded their fourth-largest storm total accumulations on record, at 19.1 in (49 cm). Boston observed 24.6 in (62 cm) of snow, its largest January storm total accumulation and its sixth largest storm total accumulation on record.[50]

In April 2015, President Obama made a federal disaster declaration for the January 26–27 snow, allowing some reimbursement for damages.[55] Massachusetts distributed an extra $30 million to cities and towns for repairs from the winter overall.[56]

1.
Extratropical cyclone
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Extratropical cyclones are capable of producing anything from cloudiness and mild showers to heavy gales, thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes. These types of cyclones are defined as large scale low pressure systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth. In contrast with tropical cyclones, extratropical cyclones produce rapid changes in temperature and dew point along broad lines, called weather fronts, the term cyclone applies to numerous types of low pressure areas, one of which is the extratropical cyclone. The descriptor extratropical signifies that this type of cyclone generally occurs outside the tropics and they are termed mid-latitude cyclones if they form within those latitudes, or post-tropical cyclones if a tropical cyclone has intruded into the mid latitudes. Weather forecasters and the public often describe them simply as depressions or lows. Terms like frontal cyclone, frontal depression, frontal low, extratropical low, non-tropical low, Extratropical cyclones are classified mainly as baroclinic, because they form along zones of temperature and dewpoint gradient known as frontal zones. They can become barotropic late in their cycle, when the distribution of heat around the cyclone becomes fairly uniform with its radius. Extratropical cyclones form anywhere within the regions of the Earth. A study of extratropical cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere shows that between the 30th and 70th parallels, there are an average of 37 cyclones in existence during any 6-hour period, a separate study in the Northern Hemisphere suggests that approximately 234 significant extratropical cyclones form each winter. Extratropical cyclones form along linear bands of temperature/dewpoint gradient with significant vertical wind shear, initially, cyclogenesis, or low pressure formation, occurs along frontal zones near a favorable quadrant of a maximum in the upper level jetstream known as a jet streak. The favorable quadrants are usually at the rear and left front quadrants. The divergence causes air to rush out from the top of the air column and this in turn forces convergence in the low-level wind field and increased upward motion within the column. The increased upward motion causes atmospheric pressure at ground level to lower and this is because the upward air motion counteracts gravity, lessening the weight of the atmosphere in that location. The lowered pressure strengthens the cyclone, as the cyclone strengthens, the cold front sweeps towards the equator and moves around the back of the cyclone. Meanwhile, its associated warm front progresses more slowly, as the air ahead of the system is denser. Later, the cyclones occlude as the portion of the cold front overtakes a section of the warm front, forcing a tongue, or trowal. Eventually, the cyclone will become cold and begin to weaken. Atmospheric pressure can fall very rapidly when there are upper level forces on the system

2.
Winter storm
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In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessarily restricted to the winter season, but may occur in the late autumn and early spring as well. Very rarely, they may form in summer, though it would have to be a cold summer. Snowstorms are storms where large amounts of snow fall, two inches of snow is enough to create serious disruptions to traffic and school transport. This is particularly true in places where snowfall is not typical, snowfalls in excess of 6 inches are usually universally disruptive. A massive snowstorm with winds and other conditions meeting certain criteria is known as a blizzard. A large number of heavy snowstorms, some of which were blizzards, occurred in the United States during 1888 and 1947 as well as the early and mid-1990s. The snowfall of 1947 exceeded 2 feet with drifts and snow piles from plowing that reached 12 feet and for months, the 1993 Superstorm manifested as a blizzard in most of the affected areas. Large snowstorms could be dangerous, a 6 in snowstorm will make some unplowed roads impassable. Snowstorms exceeding 12 in especially in southern or generally warm climates will cave the roofs of some homes, standing dead trees can also be brought down by the weight of the snow, especially if it is wet or very dense. Even a few inches of dry snow can form drifts many feet high under windy conditions, snowstorms are usually considered less dangerous than ice storms. However, the snow can bring secondary dangers, mountain snowstorms can produce cornices and avalanches. An additional danger, following a winter, is spring flooding if the snow melts suddenly because of a dramatic rise in air temperature. Deaths can occur from hypothermia, infections brought on by frostbite or car accidents due to slippery roads, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning can occur after a storm causes a power outage. There are also cases of heart attacks caused by overexertion while shoveling heavy wet snow. It is difficult to predict what form this precipitation will take, therefore, weather forecasters just predict a wintry mix. Usually, this type of precipitation occurs at temperatures between −2 and 2 °C, snowstorms generally occur when different types of air masses in the mid-latitudes interact. These storms feed on differences in temperature and moisture, initially, a wave is typically formed in the mid levels of the atmosphere as a result of a variety of things, be it a mountain range, injection of vorticity, or several other reasons. The boundaries between the air masses constitute the warm and cold fronts of the new cyclone/storm, snowstorms that produce a lot of snow require an outside source of moisture, such as the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean in the United States

3.
Blizzard
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A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds of at least 35 mph and lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically three hours or more. A ground blizzard is a condition where snow is not falling but loose snow on the ground is lifted. In the United States, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as a severe Snow storm characterized by strong winds causing blowing snow that results in low visibilities, the difference between a blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind, not the amount of snow. While severe cold and large amounts of drifting snow may accompany blizzards, Blizzards can bring whiteout conditions, and can paralyze regions for days at a time, particularly where snowfall is unusual or rare. A severe blizzard has winds over 72 km/h, near zero visibility, in Antarctica, blizzards are associated with winds spilling over the edge of the ice plateau at an average velocity of 160 km/h. Ground blizzard refers to a condition where loose snow or ice on the ground is lifted. The Australia Bureau of Meteorology describes a blizzard as, Violent and very cold wind which is laden with snow, some part, at least, Blizzard conditions of cold temperatures and strong winds can cause wind chill values that can result in hypothermia or frostbite. The wind chill factor is the amount of cooling the body feels due to the combination of wind. They are most common in the Great Plains, the Great Lakes states, and the states along the coast. Another storm system occurs when a cold core low over the Hudson Bay area in Canada is displaced southward over southeastern Canada, the Great Lakes, and New England. When the rapidly moving cold front collides with warmer air coming north from the Gulf of Mexico, strong winds, significant cold air advection. With few trees or other obstructions to wind and blowing. In a true whiteout there is no visible horizon, people can become lost in their own front yards, when the door is only 3 m away, and they would have to feel their way back. Motorists have to stop their cars where they are, as the road is impossible to see, a noreaster is a macro-scale storm along the upper East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada. It gets its name from the direction the wind is coming from, the term is most often used in the coastal areas of New England and Atlantic Canada. This type of storm has characteristics similar to a hurricane, more specifically it describes a low-pressure area whose center of rotation is just off the East Coast and whose leading winds in the left-forward quadrant rotate onto land from the northeast. High storm waves may sink ships at sea and cause coastal flooding, notable noreasters include The Great Blizzard of 1888, one of the worst blizzards in U. S. history. It dropped 100–130 cm of snow and had sustained winds of more than 45 miles per hour that produced snowdrifts in excess of 50 feet, railroads were shut down and people were confined to their houses for up to a week

4.
Milford, Massachusetts
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Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 27,999 according to the 2010 census, Milford was first settled in 1662 as a part Mendon. The King Philips War destroyed the town in 1676, but settlers returned in 1680, the Mill River flows through Milford and had several conspicuous fords that were familiar to the Native Americans, and used by the early white settlers. These Mill fords gave Milford its name, Milford was incorporated April 11th,1780 and the first Town Hall built in 1819, a brick structure later named the Town House School. The Milford Town Hall was built in 1854 by architect Thomas Silloway, Milford is renowned for its pink Milford granite, discovered in 1870. Milford quarries fueled the economy until about 1940. The granite has been used for buildings such as Memorial Hall, the Bancroft Memorial Library in Hopedale, Worcester City Hall. Other notable buildings include the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City, the main post office in New York City, the Battle Monument at West Point is also made of Milford granite, and is reputed to be the largest column of polished granite in the Western Hemisphere. The Milford Hospital was donated in 1903 by Governor Eben Sumner Draper, today, the health care facility exists as the Milford Regional Medical Center. In January 2008, the Center opened a treatment facility with the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. The Center is affiliated with UMass Medical Center as a teaching hospital, in 2015 the hospital completed a $54 million expansion project that created a new emergency department and updated the intensive care unit, as well as patient rooms. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 14.9 square miles, of which 14.6 square miles is land and 0.3 square miles. Milford is drained by the Charles River, the town is crossed by Interstate 495, as well as state routes 16,85,109, and 140. As of the census of 2000, there were 26,799 people,10,420 households, the population density was 1,835.6 people per square mile. There were 10,713 housing units at a density of 733.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 92. 95% White,1. 35% Black or African American,0. 11% Native American,1. 76% Asian,0. 06% Pacific Islander,1. 99% from other races, and 1. 77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4. 36% of the population,25. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the family size was 3.08

5.
Massachusetts
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It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named for the Massachusett tribe, which inhabited the area. The capital of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England is Boston, over 80% of Massachusetts population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution, during the 20th century, Massachusetts economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance. Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, in 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of Americas most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, in 1786, Shays Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept the Atlantic World, in the late 18th century, Boston became known as the Cradle of Liberty for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution. The entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts has played a commercial and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, in the late 19th century, the sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the state, including the Adams, both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world. Massachusetts public school students place among the top nations in the world in academic performance, the official name of the state is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While this designation is part of the official name, it has no practical implications. Massachusetts has the position and powers within the United States as other states. Massachusetts was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family such as the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett. While cultivation of crops like squash and corn supplemented their diets, villages consisted of lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses, and tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems. Between 1617 and 1619, smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans, the first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, arrived via the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag people. This was the second successful permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, the event known as the First Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World which lasted for three days

6.
Maynard, Massachusetts
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Maynard is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 25 miles west of Boston, in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, as of the 2010 census, the town population was 10,106. Maynard was the site of the Assabet Woolen Mill, which produced wool fabrics near the Assabet River for over 100 years, from 1846 to 1950, the American Powder Mills complex extending downstream along the river manufactured gunpowder from 1835 to 1940. Digital Equipment Corporation was headquartered in the buildings in Maynard from 1957 until 1998. The mill complex operated as Clock Tower Place, 2000-2015, renamed mill&main under new ownership as of 2015, The mill complex is currently renting space to office, in the future, the complex will include retail areas and restaurants. At present, there are no plans for residences, Maynard, located on the Assabet River, was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1871. Prior to that it was known as Assabet Village but was still part of the towns of Stow. There were some exploratory town-founding rumblings in 1870, followed by a petition to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, state approval was granted April 19,1871. In return, the new town paid Sudbury and Stow about $23,600, Sudbury got more money because it owned shares in the railroad, plus the wool mill and paper mill were in Sudbury, and more land came from Sudbury. The population of the newly formed town - at 1,820 - was larger than either of its parent towns, formation of new towns carved out of older ones was not unique to Maynard. Hudson, with its cluster of leather processing and shoe-making mills, seceded from Marlborough, in fact, the originally much larger Stow formed in 1683 lost land to Harvard, Shirley, Boxborough, Hudson and Maynard. The community was named after Amory Maynard, the man who, with William Knight, had bought water-rights to the Assabet River, installed a dam and built a large carpet mill in 1846-47. The community grew along with the Assabet Woolen Mill and made the highest percentage of wool for U. S. military uniforms for the Civil War, from 1910 through 1940, the population of Maynard was larger than that of Acton, Stow and Sudbury, combined. There was an attempt in 1902 to change the name from Maynard to Assabet. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided to keep the name as Maynard without allowing the topic to come to a vote by the residents, after the woolen mill finally shut down in 1950, local businessmen bought the property and began leasing it as office or manufacturing space. Digital Equipment Corporation moved into the complex in 1957, initially renting only 8,600 square feet, the company grew and grew until it bought the entire complex in 1974, which led to Maynards nickname Mini Computer Capital of the World. DEC remained in Maynard until 1998 when it was purchased by Compaq, the mill complex was nearly empty for almost ten years. The Mill, as locals call it, was renovated in the late 1990s and renamed Clock Tower Place, the site houses many businesses, including the headquarters of Powell Flutes and up to 2014 Monster. com

7.
Pacific Northwest
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The Pacific Northwest, sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Though no agreed boundary exists, a common conception includes the U. S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Broader conceptions reach north into Alaska and Yukon, south into far northern California and east to the Continental Divide, thus including Idaho, Western Montana, narrower conceptions may be limited to the northwestern US or to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the history, geography, society. The Northwest Coast is the region of the Pacific Northwest. The term Pacific Northwest should not be confused with the Northwest Territory or the Northwest Territories of Canada. The border — in two sections, along the 49th parallel south of British Columbia and the Alaska Panhandle west of northern British Columbia — has had an effect on the region. According to Canadian historian Ken Coates, the border has not merely influenced the Pacific Northwest—rather, definitions of the Pacific Northwest region vary, and there is no commonly agreed-upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common conception of the Pacific Northwest includes the U. S. states of Oregon and Washington as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. Broader definitions of the region may include the U. S. state of Alaska, the Canadian territory of Yukon, the portion of the state of California. Definitions based on the historic Oregon Country reach east to the Continental Divide, thus including all of Idaho and parts of western Montana. Sometimes the Pacific Northwest is defined as being the Northwestern United States, often these definitions are made by government agencies whose scope is limited to the United States. Some definitions include, in addition to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, Southeast Alaska, western Montana, the coast of northern California, the Pacific Northwest has been occupied by a diverse array of indigenous peoples for millennia. The Pacific Coast is seen by scholars as a major coastal migration route in the settlement of the Americas by late Pleistocene peoples moving from northeast Asia into the Americas. Other evidence for human occupation dating back as much as 14,500 years ago is emerging from Paisley Caves in south-central Oregon, however, despite such research, the coastal migration hypothesis is still subject to considerable debate. Due in part to the richness of Pacific Northwest Coast and river fisheries, in the interior of the Pacific Northwest, the indigenous peoples, at the time of European contact, had a diversity of cultures and societies. Some areas were home to mobile and egalitarian societies, others, especially along major rivers such as the Columbia and Fraser, had very complex, affluent, sedentary societies rivaling those of the coast. In British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, the Tlingit and Haida erected large, throughout the Pacific Northwest, thousands of indigenous people live, and some continue to practice their rich cultural traditions, organizing their societies around cedar and salmon

8.
Greenland
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Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Danish Realm between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century, Greenland is the worlds largest island. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. With a population of about 56,480, it is the least densely populated country in the world, the Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements. Greenland has been inhabited off and on for at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada, Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, and Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century, soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador. In the early 18th century, Scandinavian explorers reached Greenland again, to strengthen trading and power, Denmark-Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Greenland was settled by Vikings more than a thousand years ago, Vikings set sail from Greenland and Iceland, discovering North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached Caribbean islands. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1262, the Kingdom of Norway was extensive and a military power until the mid-14th century. Thus, the two kingdoms resources were directed at creating Copenhagen, Norway became the weaker part and lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became a Danish colony in 1814, and was made a part of the Danish Realm in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark, in 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC which was effected in 1985, Greenland contains the worlds largest and most northernly national park, Northeast Greenland National Park. Greenland is divided into four municipalities - Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qaasuitsup and it also retains control of monetary policy, providing an initial annual subsidy of DKK3.4 billion, which is planned to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources, the capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, the early Viking settlers named the island as Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter, along with his extended family and his thralls, he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding an area and settling there, he named it Grœnland

9.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north

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Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth

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France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

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Connecticut
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Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State Area and it is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport, the state is named for the Connecticut River, a major U. S. river that approximately bisects the state. The word Connecticut is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for long tidal river, Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is known as the Constitution State, the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and it was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Connecticuts center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticuts first European settlers were Dutch. They established a small, short-lived settlement in present-day Hartford at the confluence of the Park, initially, half of Connecticut was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England, the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, the Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along the Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition which continues today. The state also has a history of hosting the financial services industry, including insurance companies in Hartford. As of the 2010 Census, Connecticut features the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index, and median household income in the United States. Landmarks and Cities of Connecticut Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital and third largest city is Hartford, and other cities and towns include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich. Connecticut is slightly larger than the country of Montenegro, there are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state, the highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet, on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts. At the opposite extreme, many of the towns have areas that are less than 20 feet above sea level. Connecticut has a maritime history and a reputation based on that history—yet the state has no direct oceanfront